? Guitar Eq: that's short for equalizer, I think we all know that one. This is a area really misunderstood by many players. First here's the big point. Eq's are designed for tone ENHANCEMENT not REPLACEMENT. All too often these are misused?by not enhanceing your tone but trying to do TOO much tonal changing. Remember you don't want your frequencies to disappear.?There are several reasons to Eq. One: If you have a amp that's too bottom heavy then cut some lows, if you need more highs just boost those a bit. Example: I play and record most of the time with very small amps, but I ?like the big sound of a 4-12 cab so to help ENHANCE my tone I boost the lows a bit to make my small amps sound bigger. This is THE secret to the small Mesa?Boogie amps and that's why they can sound so big, it's the Boogie built in?5 band EQ.? Now if I leave the Eq setting the same while?actually playing thru the 4-12 then it's too big and "woofy" in the low end. Then I need to cut the low to ENHANCE my tone at that point. That's proper use of EQ.

? Let's look how to properly set an?EQ. Start with all levels at?0 setting or "Flat" as we call it. Once you have your tone set with the amp then and only then do you cut or boost any "Problems" in your tone. Remember ENHANCE is the key word. No big V settings on your EQ, that's tone?REPLACEMENT not enhancement. That's when you have Eq'd too much. Remember to keep all your tonal frequencies intact, ?just use small cuts or boosts to ENHANCE.

? Here's two Eq pedals?I really like for guitars. Boss GE-7. These are quiet with very low noise and they have 7 bands of Eq in the right ranges and they also feature a seperate level control?for the overall volume.?That way you can Eq in a seperate solo sound that's different from your rythym sound and boost the level so when you kick the pedal on your solo's are louder, perfect for the lead player. The?old MXR?10 band Blue Box Eq's. They have the MOST?tonal range in the Eq spectrum so your tweaks can be?MUCH MORE?fine tuned, kind of like the difference between 15 band or 31 band Eq's in a PA system, ?there's a big difference in those frequency adjustments.

? Let's recap:

1. Set your levels at "Flat" to start with
2. ENHANCE your tone with Eq by SMALL adjustments
3. Do not REPLACE your tone with Eq, that's bad.
4. Just experiment untill it sounds "Right"

Guitar Guru